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Nisshin Kikinzoku

Coporate Profille

Nisshin Kikinzoku was established by founder, Kamikawa Sousho, in the Taito area of Tokyo in 1964. Sousho studied under the mastery of Hirata Sodo, who was the 9th head of the Hirata Family, which was said to be the mother of the techniques of Tokyo Silversmithery. As the best pupil, he learnt skills like the art of hammering and went on to start up his own business. Today, Kamikawa Kazuo, Sousho II, who, at the age of 16, studied under his father, founder Sousho, has taken on the role of President of the company. His children (3 sons and 1 daughter) make up the rest of the workforce of 5 employees, including President Kamikawa himself. Inheriting this technique that has been passed on since the Edo period, the family works together in the same workshop. President Kamikawa received the “Outstanding Contemporary Master Craftsman” award in 2009, as well as the “Higashikuni-no-Miya Cultural Prize”.

Story

During the mid-Edo period, there were metalwork craftsmen called Shirogane-shi, who made accessories like ornamental hairpins with gold and silver. The “Tokyo Art Silverware Asssociation” is an organisation that brings together the stream of such craftsmen. The basic technique was brought over from mainland China during the Nara period, and it developed into an array of techniques during the Edo period. Main techniques include “Forging”, which is the hammering of soft, malleable metal, like silver, into three-dimensional pieces; and “Chasing”, which is the carving out of patterns or engraving with a chisel. Mechanical equipment are now used for a part of these, but manual, primitive methods utilizing tools like the hammer and dolly block are still being used.

Interview

When business first started, during the time when there was an unprecedented popularity in golf, we did many moulds of golf cups. In the ‘80s, we contributed to a part of Japan’s economy by applying traditional skills to the production of industrial goods, like the manufacturing of platinum crucibles used in the construction of semiconductors. The late ‘90s saw a boom in Buddhist altar articles, and we took on the making of “Orin (bells)” which rang with a metallic sounding “ding” when hit by a striker. We worked together with press-work makers to develop the technology of press-working from 18K gold plates, and we also established our own unique technique of finishing off the process with the addition of skills like hammering. We managed to meet the demand of manufacturing 200 pieces a month while still complying with the product requirements such as having the metallic ring last for more than 90 seconds.

Recommendation

We put most of our efforts in the making of liquor receptacles like wine cups. As the reflectance and heat conductivity of silver are high, not only does it make the color of the alcohol look brighter, the temperature of the drink can be felt just as it is by our hands, lips and tongue. When bartenders and sommeliers were asked for a drink-test, not only did some say that there was a difference in taste as compared to a drink from a glass cup, raving reviews like “You can even taste the fragrance from the wine barrel,” that would excite taste specialists, were also received. In the Taste and Aroma Strategic Institute (Yokohama City, Hodogaya-ku), a research organisation which carries out numerical modelling and analysis of taste, the results of a comparison between drinking wine in cups made from gold/silver and glass/resin showed that gold/silver glasses tone down the degree of tartness of the wine, making it easier to drink. We are striving to market our products as something not only with a difference in appearance, but also as something which will create a new sensation, as in like taste.

Meanwhile, we are also looking into overseas business ventures. We have recently received requests from Chinese companies for the manufacturing of silver prototypes for iron kettles. With our unique products, that are made using modern technology built on the experiences gained when we first started our business from producing iron kettles, which were called boilers then, we anticipate to break ground in the market of the affluent society in China. We will continue our challenge of finding ways of utilizing traditional skills while adpating to the needs of the times.